Laviolette keeps Flyers' eyes on the prize

Laviolette keeps Flyers' eyes on the prizePeter Laviolette is no stand-up comedian, but he has proven to be a stand-out presence in the Flyers' dressing room.

PHILADELPHIA --Peter Laviolette has the same stern look before and after each game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring. Not quite a snarl but the type of stare that makes you uncomfortable, especially if you are looking to ask questions of the Flyers' 45-year-old coach.

Laviolette never really says more than he needs to and always seems to have answers to even the most intricate questions, though the response might not always be the most usable material for a full-length feature.

Honesty best policy for Laviolette

"His passion and honesty are what make him such a special coach," McCarthy told NHL.com. "He doesn't hold anything back and lets them know where they stand; players like that. Everyone is held accountable whether you're on the first line or fourth line, on the first defensive pair or sixth defensive pair."

One reason McCarthy feels Carolina went 16-9 in the '06 Playoffs on the way to a seven-game triumph in the Cup Final over the Edmonton Oilers was his ability to work on the fly.

"He has a vision for thinking outside the box," McCarthy said. "A lot of times, when everyone would think he's going to do one thing, you'd do something completely different. Maybe he'll call off a practice or decide not to go on the ice that day and, instead, have a video meeting where we'd sit down and talk about things. He has the ability to bring guys back to earth no matter if it's after a win or a loss. You have to have that in the playoffs."

Laviolette led the Flyers to a 28-24-5 record in 57 regular-season games to end the season but expects even more this time of year. And he's now three wins away from winning his second Stanley Cup in five years.

"He's a great coach with great systems and he speaks well," Leighton said. "When it comes down to business, he's really serious, but off the ice you can go into his room and talk to him -- he's very approachable. He's the kind of guy who will ask how the family is doing and players appreciate that. Some coaches will stay away from that and just stick to hockey; he's more sociable with the guys."

-- Mike G. Morreale

"We don't discuss lineup changes."

"He's played well."

"I can't answer that question."

All throw-away material. But every so often, Laviolette provides a few gems. Such was the case when his team fell behind the Boston Bruins, 3-0, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Prior to Game 4, Laviolette offered up a simple, yet telling, snippet that held true then and could be a difference-maker now following his team's dramatic 4-3 overtime decision in Game 3 to pull within 2-1 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

"We have to win one game. I think that's the first thing on the agenda is to get a win in the column," Laviolette said.

Not only would the Flyers win that next game, but they'd string together six straight. Thing is, though, Laviolette doesn't even remember it. When reminded of his team's longest winning streak this postseason, Laviolette paused for five seconds before finally admitting, "Yeah, that was a good one."

But while Laviolette will never self indulge or pat himself on the back, his players have no problem doing just that.

"He's been there before and won a Stanley Cup (in Carolina in 2006), so we really believe that he knows what he's doing and talking about," Flyers forward Danny Briere said. "He's a very good motivator; his speeches are great. He brings a lot of calmness and confidence that is borderline cockiness, which is what you need. You don't want to cross that line but you need to be a little bit arrogant and have confidence in your team and I think that's what he brings to the team."

Even before their first win against the Blackhawks in Game 3, which snapped a seven-game winning streak, Laviolette just felt his team had been playing with tremendous confidence.

"There's always a period in the playoffs that you look back on and aren't happy with, but the guys have a lot of confidence in what they're doing right now," he said. "They believe in each other and they believe they're going to win hockey games before the game is even played and I think that's really important."

Laviolette was asked his greatest influences as a coach during Philadelphia's off-day press conference at Wachovia Center on Thursday afternoon.

His response was certainly predictable.

"I really don't think about those things," he said. "I had lots of coaches that I've worked with and you learn from people and learn from your family; your upbringing, players, you learn from winning and losing."

Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, who has been a shut-down beast in the playoffs while logging the most ice time of any player in the League, said he has an idea why Laviolette has done so well behind the bench this postseason.

"He's done an excellent job of keeping everyone focused on the task at hand and that's the next game. We don't look too far down the line. We don't look at possible outcomes in Games 5, 6 or 7. We look at what's ahead of us and, right now, that's Game 4." -- Chris Pronger on Peter Laviolette

"He's done an excellent job of keeping everyone focused on the task at hand and that's the next game," Pronger said. "We don't look too far down the line. We don't look at possible outcomes in Games 5, 6 or 7. We look at what's ahead of us and, right now, that's Game 4.

"Much like it was (Wednesday) when we were worried about one game and that was Game 3. We just keep our eye on the day at hand. What we need to do to be successful and as focused on our systems and structures that he's put in place."

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I don't have a crystal ball. Predicting is a real complicated thing. If we stay healthy, have enough depth and get the good goaltending we think we're going to have, you can go all the way. But a lot of things have to happen. There's going to be a lot of teams that think the same thing. Everyone made deals. We're all are optimistic about where we'll end up.

— Rangers general manager Glen Sather after being asked if he's constructed a team that can win the Stanley Cup before their 4-1 win against the Predators on Monday